# Ontong Java flying fox (*Pteropus howensis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/ontong-java-flying-fox  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The ontong java flying fox (Pteropus howensis) is a species in the family Pteropodidae, order Chiroptera. Recorded adults weigh about 232.9 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Critically Endangered.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 232.9 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Frugivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | 0.98 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Arboreal |
| Conservation status | Critically Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Chiroptera
- family: Pteropodidae
- genus: Pteropus
- species: *Pteropus howensis* Troughton, 1931

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### How big is the ontong java flying fox?

An adult ontong java flying fox weighs 232.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Where does the ontong java flying fox live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the ontong java flying fox for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

### Is the ontong java flying fox endangered?

The ontong java flying fox is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

### What kind of animal is the ontong java flying fox?

The ontong java flying fox (Pteropus howensis) belongs to the family Pteropodidae in the order Chiroptera.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Ontong Java flying fox (Pteropus howensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ontong-java-flying-fox